Soloviov O.V.
East-Ukrainian national university named after V. Dal
MIND
– BODY – PROBLEM: OR CONCERNING THE
ROLE OF FACTOR OF SUBJECTIVITY IN HUMANE BRAIN DURING OPERATING PAST EXPERIENCE
FOR CREATING NEW INFORMATION
Everybody is a “witness” of the existence of his own consciousness,
of his own mental processes, of his own mental phenomena in his own head. But
for what do the neuronal networks of our brain carry out mental phenomena? And the
facts of modern brain science, cognitive science [1] has shown that mental
processes in our brain is a certain evolutionary created “instrument” of
creating new information on the basis of integrating the information already
fixed in the brain (I call such information “old” information).
So, in our times, we have the right to say that mental
processes in our brain carry out a very significant and very specific function
during operating information. And in this paper we want to show that the neuronal
networks of the brain principally cannot operate information without this specific
function. By another words, we may say that the neuronal networks of our brain
function exactly for realization of mental phenomena.
It leads to the question: For what do mental processes
function in our brain, in the brains of higher animals, in the brain of Nagel’s
bat, in Nagel’s own brain, in the brain of Mary, why is in the Chinese room
now?
My answer is: Mental processes function in our brain
because of their specific feature named “subjectivity” [2].
What do I mean when I say “subjectivity”. My answer
is: Subjectivity is the main characteristic of mental processes, which is characterized
as factor of operating information in the sphere of mentality.
Next question: Why is subjectivity a factor of
operation information in human brain? -
Answer is: it’s because subjectivity is a factor of the qualitative, non
quantitative (as in computers for example), evaluation information fixed in our
brain. The subjective evaluation of information fixed in human brain realize
the biological or social meanings of objects and phenomena because it evaluates
information in terms “good” or “bad”, “positive” or “negative” formed in
emotional form. It helps people to actualize from their experience fixed in
their brain networks exactly needed information for creating new information to
solve new problem. For example, the feeling of fear actualize in mental sphere
needed images which contain exactly needed information to combine for creating
to solve new situation on the basis of “old” information.
So, as for me, brain science, cognitive science, the
philosophy of the brain, now have a good opportunity to create new scientific
paradigm which must say that the mental processes carried out by the networks
of our brain have a certain very specific function during operating information
in it. And this very specific function helps a living system to adapt to the
novelty of the environment.
Compare two kinds of neuronal networks of nerves
system. The networks of the unconditioned reflex may help us only in a routine environment,
in environment without any novelty. As
it is, for example, knee reflex. And the principle of activity of such networks
may be easy understood in a paradigm of physical classic (Newtonian) causality. The unconditioned reflex, which
neural network is formed genetically, "ideally" adapts live system
only for invariable environment. But the environment of living systems is
essentially likelihood, "fraught" with novelty. The living system to
survive and been self-organized in such environment should ontogenetically
accumulate experience and integrate it for formation of new answers on new
environment irritants.
However in this case there is a contradiction:
adequate answers to new irritants essentially can't be generated if to describe
activity of neural networks of a brain only within the limits of a paradigm of
a classical physical determinism [2, 3]. Really, the probability theory doesn't
suppose possibility of formation of set of synaptic links between neuronal
networks, fixed memory of the real events considerably different in time, such
inexplicable way that they would carried
out «passing» bioelectric signals from a sensory input to an muscle exit (and behavioral acts carried out of such a
way at the same time would appear biologically or socially adequate).
The brain networks which carry out mental processes
and, at the same time, the phenomenon of subjectivity, as a working aspect of
mental processes, are localized in more high brain levels than networks which
carry out automatic behavior [1, 4]. And such high networks (localized in cortex,
hippocampus, limbic system, reticular formation and so on) realize the reaction
of organism to novelty on the basis of ontogenetic experience by means of
mental phenomena. They are adequately active in conditions of novelty, in
environment of novelty. It is right especially for the social environment because
every person is a potential source of novelty for every other person thanks to
principle person’s freedom.
The next question is: Why do mental processes as information processes help people to
adapt to environmental novelty?
The answer is: Mental processes help people to adapt
to environmental novelty because of their principal subjectivity: people
percept only subjectively high information; they operate in our thinking only
subjectively evaluative information because we subjectively want only certain
future. That’s why people have an opportunity to use exactly that experience
fixed in our brain which we need for elimination of the deficit of information
for creation of mental models of future.
So, objectively active neuronal networks of our brain
function only just for creating mental (subjectively active) processes. By
other worlds, our mentality is a certain “workspace” (as Baars says [5]) in which
the phenomenon of subjectivity acts as a factor of realization of “global
access” to all information fixed in our brain and, at the same time, as an
operator of this information, which is needed to solve concrete present
problems or predictable future problems by wishing good future or not wishing
bad future.
The last question is: Why do our mentality has an
opportunity to have “global access” exactly to that information which is useful
for solving exactly this or that novel and unpredictable, uncertain situation
in connection of living system with the environment?
The answer is: It’s just because the phenomenon of
subjectivity acts as a mechanism of subjective (qualitative, non quantitative,
as in computers) evaluation of information fixed in a brain. And it direct
information processes in the brain in biologically or socially right direction according
to available problem.
So, knows Mary as it is to be a bat or don’t knows, the
subjectivity of a bat and Mary is an evolutionary created “instrument” to react
to novelty by the integrated ontogenetic experience of a bat and Mary.
REFERENCE
1. Churchland P.S. Brain – Wise. Stadies in
Neurophilosophy/ Churchland P.S // Bradford book. The MIT Press Cambridge-
Massachusetts- London ,2002. – 403p.
2.
Соловьев О.В. Человеческое Я в «просвете» физического закона /
О.В. Соловьев // Вопросы философии. - №11. – 2008. – С.52-64.
3.
Соловьев
О.В. Об эволюции феномена саморегуляции, реализующего потенции самоорганизации
живых систем (от рефлекса к осознанию) / Соловьев О.В., Макаренко Э.В. // Мир
психологии. – №2. – 2011. – С.27-38.
4.
Соловьев
О.В. О принципиальном отличии и детерминизма в информационных сетях
человеческого мозга и ЭВМ / О.В. Соловьев, С.О. Соловьев // Искусственный
интеллект.- 2009.-№3. – С.11-22.
5. Baars, B.J. (2002). The conscious access hypothesis: Origins and recent
evidence. Trends in Cognitive Science 6/1. P.47-52.
Соловьев
Олег Владимирович, канд. Пед. Наук.
Доцент Восточно-украинского национального университета им. В. Даля, докторант
лаборатории психофизиологии института психологии НАПН Украины им. Г.С. Костюка.
- Украина,
г. Луганск, кВ. Молодежный, 20-а, ВНУ
им. Даля, кафедра физического воспитания.
- (038) (0642) 41-76-59.